1880: Matches, Pianos and the Square

It’s a long way from the subject of matches to that of pianos. Maybe not so strange when taken through the long lens of history in Lafayette Square.

On Carroll Street east of 18th Street is a row of houses built from 2013 through 2015. They face an older row of houses built around 1872. The homes at 1717, 1719, 1723 and 1725 Carroll were designed and built for Augustus Eichele, who had 1727 Carroll built for his own use. The other three were constructed for his daughters. 1725 connected to 1727 through a passageway meant to enable one of Augustus’s daughter to tend him in his old age. 

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1859: Lafayette Park and Krausnick

Sometimes the research for a historical essay seems linear enough, but then pinballs off at unanticipated angles. I set about to simply find some background on Edward Krausnick, the little-remembered first superintendent of Lafayette Park. What followed is a reminder that real lives seldom follow a linear narrative.

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1925: The Real Hot Stove League

St. Louis has a rich industrial history, going well beyond beer, brick, lead and iron. It’s also home to a robust hot stove league, picking the bones in between baseball seasons. Here’s a more literal take.

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1933: Mary’s Dreamland On Park Ave

A recent essay dealt with the history of 1717 Park Avenue and its long backstory. https://lafayettesquarearchives.com/1896-a-stable-history-of-1717-park-av/

1727 Park Avenue to the left; MO Historical Society; 1932

A 1932 photo from that essay reveals the property next door. It’s still recognizable as today’s Square One restaurant and microbrewery. That two story building and side garden at 1727 Park Avenue was Mary’s Dreamland in the 1930s, and entertained the night crowd throughout its long tenure.

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1896: A Stable History of 1717 Park Av

The Meyerkord building at 1717 Park Avenue currently houses various law firms. It recently sold from one group of lawyers to another. Last year I walked past and pondered the earlier group’s motto, “A Legacy of Legal Innovation” in the lobby. I still wonder how innovation factors into personal injury litigation. That, and how this building, looking more like a restored two-story garage, came to be here.  

1st Essay Graphic
1717 Park Avenue today
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1968: A Black Hip Session In Lafayette Park

An officially sanctioned “black hip session” seemed unlikely in Lafayette Park during the summer of 1968, but it happened. There have been books written about the single year significance of 1968 in America. It kicked off with the Tet offensive, a coordinated nationwide assault that made the 85,000 US forces in Vietnam look shockingly inadequate for their task. 

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1901: CF Blanke and the Aerial Globe

C.F. Blanke Building; c/o Paul Sableman; 2015

Ever noticed the 5 story, vaguely moorish looking building pictured above? 

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1919: The Most Distinguished Woman in Lafayette Square

In his book about Lafayette Square, John Albury Bryan wrote that Phillip North Moore and his wife Eva Perry Moore were the most distinguished couple to have ever lived there.

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1857-1898: The German Newspapermen

Here’s the tale of three interlinked German-American newspapermen. They’re featured at the statue of The Naked Truth at Grand and Russell, and all three lived in Lafayette Square.

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1878: The Power Couple of the Square

For starters, you won’t find the house and I can’t find a photo. How then to write about the Pulsifers? Probing a more obscure part of Lafayette Square history, it’s instructive in what it touches. Let me draw you a word picture.

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